New rules make it easier for divorced, separated Indians to get passport

Muscat: Indians born before January 26 1989 no longer have to submit birth certificates as proof of date of birth while applying for passports, the new passport rules say.
“The applicants can take passports by submitting either birth certificate or PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Driving License, Election Identity card,” the new rules say.
According to the statutory provisions of passport rules, 1980, all applicants born after 26/01/1989 have to submit a birth certificate in order to receive their passports.
The minister of state for external affairs, General VK Singh (retd), announced the new rules.
Another key step aimed at simplifying the process is that attestation by magistrate or notary will no longer be necessary. Self declaration on plain paper will do.
Single parents, divorced or separated people and adopted children also stand to benefit from the changes.
Singh said the changes had been introduced after the government accepted the report of a three-member panel tasked with examining issues relating to cases where the mother or child did not want the father’s name mentioned, children of single parents and adopted children. Officials from the MEA and women and child development ministry were on the panel.
The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of only one parent.
Married applicants won’t be required to furnish a marriage certificate. For domestically adopted children, there will no need to submit a registered adoption deed. The applicant may give a declaration confirming the adoption.
The number of annexes prescribed in the Passport Rules, 1980, has been trimmed from 15 to nine.
The foreign ministry said the change in rules would enable it to deliver passport-related services in a timely, transparent and more accessible manner.
The rules also have a provision for government employees who are not able to a get no objection certificate from their employer but need to get the passport urgently. They can get the passport by submitting self-declaration papers informing that they have sent a prior intimation letter to the employer.
Minister Singh launched a Twitter service for quicker resolution of visa and passport queries. The handle will be supported by 198 Twitter accounts of Indian missions abroad and 29 regional passport offices.
The new passport rules were reportedly formulated on the basis of a report of a three-member committee. The committee was comprised of officials of the MEA and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.